The Big Picture · Interview
February 12, 2018/ 43 min/ Sean Fennessey
Sean Fennessey talks to Alex Ross Perry about Golden Exits, the low-budget economics behind his five films, casting Ad-Rock, and how he ended up writing Disney's Christopher Robin.
24 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
Alex Ross Perry on 'Golden Exits'
His fifth movie and the main subject. A seven-character Brooklyn ensemble shot with no handheld photography at all, the last stop in a three-part progression from Listen Up Philip (nearly all handheld) through Queen of Earth (50-50). He cast Emily Browning, Chloe Sevigny, Jason Schwartzman, and Adam Horovitz by pitching them characters before he'd finished writing.
His first movie, made for $15,000 and written around people and locations he already had access to.
The first film he wrote without worrying about locations or budget first. Premiered at Sundance in January 2014; the anxiety after finishing it is what led him to Joe Swanberg.
A single-location, four-character film shot in 12 days for under $200,000, financed by Joe Swanberg. He was on the phone getting the Christopher Robin call while in the edit room for this one.
The Disney Winnie the Pooh movie he wrote after pitching himself into the job on the strength of a Teddy Ruxpin option that fell apart. He'd just come from watching a cut of it on the Disney lot.
A script he wrote to spec for director Mark Pellington, who reached out over Facebook and asked for something unsentimental he could shoot on a fixed budget and schedule.
Joe Swanberg's own film, which he used to show Perry how he could produce and finance Queen of Earth.
Adam Horovitz's prior acting role, and the reason Perry sought him out for Golden Exits.
His example of what counted as a studio movie when he was in college.
Another studio movie from that same college-era benchmark.
His example of the kind of $40 million Disney-backed film that no longer gets made.
His example of a $10 million Focus/Universal movie from that same era.
Cited as Focus/Universal circling back toward that scale of filmmaking.
The Rian Johnson movie that excited his college generation before Johnson went on to make Star Wars.
Rian Johnson's studio film, cited as the scale his generation aspired to.
His comparison point for the stop-motion Teddy Ruxpin movie he tried and failed to option.
He says his unmade Teddy Ruxpin pitch had essentially the same plot.
David Lowery was finishing this when his and Perry's shared agent connected Perry to the Christopher Robin job.
His pick for the last great thing he'd seen: a 35mm Hong Kong action marathon highlight about two hitmen in a coded gay romance.
The Reese Witherspoon movie he watched on the flight in, and, per Fennessey, a Ringer favorite.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Coming up next episode Early Man
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
Unproduced projects Teddy Ruxpin
TV/music video Wallace and GromitJeremy (music video)
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